Archive for December 2008

We’ve been hearing all the terrible news in lieu with the economic downturn but thankfully, a survey by Hay Group has unearthed statistics that should inject a fresh dose of hope that things are really not all bad.

More than 2/3 of Singapore companies surveyed have decided not to cut back on 2008’s bonuses, incentives and profit sharing. Sixty-five percent of respondents are also on track in meeting their 2008 targets and best of all, they are paying their high performers 60% more in base salary increases than to their other employees.

This leads to the question – what about the bulk of us who aren’t top performers?

The survey determined that primary concerns of organisations include retaining and recruiting top talent and employees with critical skills. This is simply because top performers make a much bigger impact to the companies as a whole, in comparison to the average employee. Companies cannot afford and do not want to lose top performers in any way, be it physically (get poached, resigned) or mentally (becoming demotivated and disengaged).

Hence, while the number of companies which has decided to freeze or decrease salaries has actually doubled from 41% to 83.4% in the past eight months, amount payable for bonuses will remain untouched for now.

According to Christian Vo Phuoc, country manager for Hay Group’s Reward Information Services Singapore, companies are generally wary about cutting incentives and bonuses as it is a reward to employees for their past year’s performance. As bonuses are already accrued for during the year, Vo Phuoc says, “It is more financially prudent for companies to pay out bonuses than salary increases which will immediately impact next year’s bottom-line.”

Most importantly, employees who have consistently performed well should not fret as more companies in Singapore are increasing their investments to retain their high-performing employees. The year 2009 will be all about performance management, as companies begin to clearly define the line between top and poor performers.

Holiday office parties by nature, carry much more pressure than normal parties. For some, it can even be more stressful than a regular work-day! This December, be careful to ensure that you adopt an “office party” personality, rather than let that party vixen in you out loose for your boss to see.

Still, I wonder what’s so bad about loosening up, just a teeny bit on that one measly night in front of your colleagues. You see, I’ve been a student all my life and never once have I been to an office party but yet I’ve read and heard scores of work-party related stories gone horribly wrong – to the point of even affecting one’s career advancement!

Surely, somebody should not be judged based on that single time he accidentally smacked his boss’s ass (while under the influence of liquor, free flow, provided by the boss himself)! Apparently, an impeccable track record that take months and years for you to build up in the office, can be easily tarnished at office parties itself. How ironic.

Anyway, here’s a story to tickle you about how Jessica (click here to read in full) tried to fit in and made a complete fool out of herself at an office party.

A few jobs ago, I was trying to ingratiate myself with my newish coworkers during the holiday fete. I didn’t really fit in and I didn’t know anyone particularly well, so I kept trying to join conversations that were already going on. I entered one such convo in media res, and the subject was Wicca. Boorishly, I heard “Wicca” mentioned and blurted out, “Oh my God, do you know any Wiccans? I thought they were all 13-year-old goths.” To which one of the conversants responded: “Yes, my wife is Wiccan.” Rut roh! I violated one of the major rules of polite workplace relations, which is avoid topics like religion and politics.

I suppose that further reiterated the fact that advice from the more experienced should be heeded as far as possible. Here’s what I’ve gathered so far; exercise complete self control and behave with decoram at ALL times, especially when attending ANY work-related function. An office party is really simply a test, in the sneakiest of disguise. Everybody will be judging you, from the moment you step in and “party”.

Singapore will convene its National Wages Council (NWC) in early January, four months ahead of schedule, in what economists say may be a prelude to a cut in employers’ pension contributions.

‘Given the weakening economic situation, there is a need for the NWC to take stock of the new situation and review its May guidelines to help companies and workers manage the downturn,’ the Manpower Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the detailed agenda for the NWC’s January meeting.

‘At the last crisis, they cut the CPF (Central Provident Fund) and I won’t be surprised if they did it again,’ said Joseph Tan, Singapore-based Asia chief economist for private banking at Credit Suisse.

‘Between cutting wages and letting people go, the government’s preference is to keep jobs.’

The government last cut employers’ contributions to the CPF, the retirement fund for Singaporean workers, by 3 percentage points to 13 percent in October 2003 to help firms cope with the effects of the SARS outbreak.

Do you think CPF wages will be slashed from the current 14.5% to 13% (of the SARS period)? Will this help keep jobs or do we need another alternative?

What is the purpose of a business jargon? Does it supposedly separate the commoners from those professionals in the business world? I should think not since “buffling” (excessive usage of business jargons) is not that uncommon. Besides, it’s quite safe to say that everybody has heard of the phrase “thinking outside the box”. It’s no wonder that this tired phrase happens to be the most despised business jargon!

Nearly half of the Britons surveyed by YouGov believe that employees use such terms solely for the purpose of impressing their superiors. Honestly, I doubt such phrases are sufficient to make an impact on your boss. After all, most of the phrases does not say anything important or useful.

What’s more, business speak appears to have creeped into life outside the office, with 46% of the working respondents admitting that they buffle even at home and with their friends. It has apparently become quite difficult for workers to stop using the clichéd phrases at home, since they are so addicted to saying “blue-sky thinking” and “singing from the same hymn sheet”.

If you’re interested to know, here are the top 20 “buffling” business terms in the UK:

1) Thinking outside of the box

2) Touch base

3) At the end of the day

4) Going forward

5) All of it

6) Blue sky thinking

7) Out of the box

8 ) Credit crunch

9) Heads up

10) Singing from the same hymn sheet

11) Pro-active

12) Downsizing

13) Ducks in a row

14) Brainstorming

15) Thought shower

16) 360º thinking

17) Flag it up

18) Pushing the envelope

19) At this moment in time

20) In the loop

As much as I’d like to believe that I’m immune to business jargons, since I’m hardly part of the corporate business world, I must admit that I have included at least five of the pointless phrases in my own conversations. This just goes to show that the “buffling flu” has evidently caught on.

Money makes the world go round, so they all say. We just can’t do without it – or why else would we be working? And 2008 has been a rollercoaster year. While the year started off as a bullish economy, we’ve seen soaring oil prices and spiraling inflation rates in the middle of the year and we’re now headed on a collision course for a recession.

Hence, it’s no surprise that according to our website analytics, C&B stories have been dominating our list of most-read newsletter stories for 2008. (We only started collecting website data in mid-April after our server migration though.)

Stories of shrinking pay cheques, pay increases and retaining employees were hot stories in the beginning of the year. But as the year wore on, stories about treating retrenched employees and retenchments came into prominence as well.

What was a surprise was the number of clicks Bizarre HR garnered – enough to make it the second-most read story for this year. Really?

So tell us, what stories did you like? Do you agree with this list? What would you like to read about in 2009?

Singapore – Business consultants says companies looking to increase wages to help employees cope with rising food and fuel prices should heed Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s warning that this would cause a further spike in inflation.

Singapore – Forget about asking for a higher salary increment this year, as HR practitioners’ salary increments are likely to range from 0 to 10%. Furthermore, if you are a talent management or a resourcing specialist, you may just find yourself out of a job too.

(Okay, this isn’t a HR Bulletin story per se because it was a cover story in our revamp issue, but I’m still including it because HR practitioners should read it!)

It will be a tough year to hang on to talent as everyone’s on the hunt for better people, so how can you keep the poachers from your door? Here’s 10 real world strategies to protect your headcount from the wolves.

What will be the size of your year-end bonus, and will you get a raise soon? In our first ever video interview, C&B leader of Hewitt Singapore, Samir Bedi, talks about what salary trends are likely to play out in the coming year.

If the slowing economy has affected the company’s budget for work-life activities and HR has to come up with an innovative employee engagement programme without breaking the bank, look no further. The Herman Group’s president and strategic business futurist Joyce Gioia shares with Human Resources four low cost morale-boosting ideas to keep the multigenerational workforce happy at work.

Watch on to find out.

Have trouble loading the video? Why not check your company or computer’s firewall settings to make sure that Youtube videos can be streamed on your computer.

Searching for a job is really not all about the resume. Candidates often put too much time and emphasis on resumes that it comes to a point whereby they tend to neglect other job securing strategies. Candidates have to understand that the resume is a tool to help you secure an interview but the overall decisive factor does not lie in the resume alone.

According to Cleve Rowley, president of his own company which specializes in assisting companies improve performance through better screening and selection of potential candidates, “It is more advisable for one to start networking. Relationships are after all the core of society. A relationship of mutual trust and commitment, as well as genuine interest for the other is highly beneficial in the long run.”

2) Be creative about personal growth

Research have shown that the natural process of aging causes the loss of creativity. This causes our lives to become less spontaneous and more inflexible. A job search requires one to have both mental and emotional energy as well as clarity. Making time to do something creative for yourself, like engage in a refreshing new project or taking up a new class will help energize your job search.

While most seem to think that appearance is secondary, engaging in a fresh, creative activity will help enhance one’s overall appearance. Somewhere along the hiring process, appearance may become the deciding factor and it may even have more to do about the way you look, rather than the way you dress.

3) Look like a professional

Never think that your appearance doesn’t count. Model after successful people and dress the way they conventionally do. This will give you a better idea of what determines professional dressing. Observe and learn how successful people dress and carry themselves as you meet and talk with them.

Last but not the least… while conducting your job search, also consider other options like starting your own business ventures. You have, after all gained experience over the years running your own unit within the company. Why not stretch your boundaries and try tailor your business according to what the market trends are, tapping in on your strongest talent.

This will especially come in handy when you have a unique speciality, resulting in greater demand for your speciality.